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Topics - Inso

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Hasslefree / Grymn Armies?

« on: June 18, 2013, 04:53:15 PM »

Everyone has seen my Grymn armies... but I have only seen one or two others.

That begs the question... are there any more out there?

Please could you post a pic of your Grymn squads/armies here in a bid to share the wealth and try and get some inspiration...

The Grymn High Command needs YOU!

Ideas, Inspiration & Idle Thoughts... / General information about the contest.

« on: June 16, 2013, 01:24:01 PM »

Right, here goes.

Yes I am at a 'cross-roads' at the moment but this competition is still up and running and will start in September as planned.

We now have a theme:

Pick on Someone Your own Size

We have a date when the competition will open:

24th Sep 2013

BUT we don't have any rules to go by yet. That means that I have two months to get my head around the rules and post up some categories... so that is what I will do.

That said, 30+ people voted in the polls so I hope that those who voted join in and we actually have some decent levels of competition this year. As excellent as the entries were last time around, six people taking the time to enter is a little disappointing

.

So there you have it. The rules will be sorted in the next few weeks so that you can plan out your entries ready for the 'before' picture on 24th September.

General Ranting / That is how it is.

« on: June 16, 2013, 10:03:18 AM »

http://insosworld.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/revolving-doors.html

General Ranting / Fading away...

« on: May 13, 2013, 10:40:44 AM »

I am going to fade away for a while.

It won't be for too long and there is nothing sinister behind it.

The UDoD13 will still be happening so updates to the rules etc will happen when they are due.

See you on the flip side

.

My Blog will be updated every Sunday, as usual.

Suggestions (HF) / Akula style Grymn

« on: May 07, 2013, 10:02:57 AM »

Kev, you know the three human troops that you sculpted for Akula? Well, they would look really good in Grymn form. I have obviously encouraged Akula to get some Dwarf troops for his project but have been told that they aren't on the menu... so please could you consider sculpting some for HF.

Failing that, the human, modern troopers would look cool in Grymn form with suitable weapon changes (not to the sci-fi weapons but more appropriate 'smaller' weapons).

Failing that... Grymn in standard combats with webbing.

Just a thought

General Ranting / I was bored so I did a bit of nosing about...

« on: May 04, 2013, 08:28:02 AM »

Looking at the member stats...

There are 769 members on the FoD.

Of those 769, only 190 members have posted over 100 times.

...I am glad to see that Grekwood is still on here (in spirit) and his post count ranks him as the tenth most prolific poster.

I have also noticed that I, in fact, have no life whatsoever and have spent almost 90 days on here (which is probably why I am top of the tree

)...

...No...

...The internet is a GOOD thing...

Movies/TV/Music Zone / Iron Man 3

« on: April 29, 2013, 08:12:43 AM »

I went to see this yesterday and really enjoyed it.

If you haven't seen the Avengers film, there may be a little bit of confusion when people mention New York and worm-holes but if you just think 'they were very stressful times', you should be fine.

My son said that some of the aspects of the bad guy's 'thing' needed a bit more explanation... but being familiar with the comics (ultimate and extremis) it wasn't a problem for me.

I enjoyed the film for its tech and also how they made Tony 'fragile' and Pepper 'awesome'.

And Guy Pearce plays a truly greasy bad guy...

...don't get me started on Ben Kingsley's character

General Ranting / The DALEKs are coming... how can we stop them?

« on: April 28, 2013, 08:45:04 PM »

Alert! Super amazing prize chance!

The DALEKS are coming!

What can we use to stop them?

UNIT needs help so please put your answer below.

You only get one chance and only have until next Sunday to save the world.

The winning answer gets a prize.

The prize can only be revealed after the winner has been chosen (but there will be plastic DALEKs included in the prize).

Heresy / The Sharclon Menace

« on: April 24, 2013, 06:14:53 PM »

The Sharclon have been spotted!:

Here are a few scale pix with various Dwarf/Halfling/Human miniatures:

General Ranting / Hasslefree/Heresy fluff.

« on: April 23, 2013, 09:01:15 AM »

Deep in the mines on Traxil 9, the Grymn engineers were struggling to extract the last traces of iron from the seam. Every time, they managed to remove a small quantity of ore, a cave-in meant more structural repairs and it was reaching a point where the asteroid was going to be vacated and left as barren. It was literally at the final attempt to extract the iron when Grast noticed a smooth surface protruding from the seam and rushed to fetch the supervisor.
“Sir, it seems to be part of a curved, machined surface… there is no way it is natural” said Grast.
“Hmmm” said Hurma as he ran his bare palm over the shiny surface “it certainly doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever found in an iron seam.”
“What shall we do?” asked Grast.
“Well… it would only be polite to dig it out to see what it is” replied Hurma.
“Right you are, sir” replied Grast and he waited for Hurma to move away before he lowered his visor and fired up his laser burner.
It took just over three hours to extract the object from the seam and once all of the debris was chipped away from its surface, it quickly became obvious that it was a perfect sphere. A group of Grymn miners gathered round to inspect the object and it left them scratching their heads.
“Shall we crack it open?” asked Varly.
“No… not until the high command has been informed” replied Hurma.
“What is it?” asked Barker.
“I have no idea… but it is manufactured” replied Hurma “Jorgi, could you let control know that the object has been removed?”
“Yes, sir” replied Jorgi and he disappeared for a few minutes before returning and saying “comms aren’t working.”
“What?” asked Hurma.
“Comms aren’t working” replied Jorgi “I can’t reach control… or anyone else, for that matter. I just get static.”
“Have you tried the tubes?” asked Hurma.
“Yes but I got no response” replied Jorgi.
“Right, Jorgi, pop up to see what is going on and pass on the news” said Hurma.
“Yes, Sir” replied Jorgi and he dashed off towards the elevators. A few moments he returned and said “the elevators don’t work.”
“What?” replied Hurma “None of them?”
“Nope… I tried them all but they don’t move” replied Jorgi “power is on and I reset the circuits but the elevators don’t move.”
At that moment, the lights in the shaft flickered and there was a strong static build up that caused the hair to stand up on the assembled miners’ heads. A slow, pulsing, bass noise began to echo from deep in the shaft. The assembled Grymn looked at each other and then down the tunnel. A couple of them dashed off to the weapons lockers and returned with pulse guns.

They waited as the pulsing noise got louder. After a few minutes, a few light reflections could be seen and moments later, the hulking forms of steel clad warriors could be made out.

“Who are you?” shouted Hurma. He got no response and the warriors continued their monotonous march towards him.
“Fire a warning pulse” said Hurma and Ygnal obliged.
“Who are you?” repeated Hurma but still they marched towards him. Pretty soon they reached him and continued on, pushing him to one side as they moved towards the sphere. Hurma was knocked unconscious by the force and fell limply to the ground. That was all that Ignal needed and he fired at the warriors.

His shot made contact but was stopped by the warriors’ armour. They didn’t even pause in their slow advance as they returned fire; vaporising the threat. All of the miners were quickly dealt with and the warriors approached the sphere. One of them placed a hand on the object and it immediately began to shrink down to the size of an orange. He opened a pouch on his belt and placed the sphere inside before turning around with the rest of the squad and returning to the depths of the tunnel.

As they reached the prone form of Hurma one of the warriors kicked him to wake him up and Hurma opened his eyes to see the warrior remove his heavy helmet.

“I am sorry for the disruption. Please carry on your work; we have retrieved what we came for” said the heavy set warrior “Have a nice darla.”

The warrior replaced his helmet, rejoined his squad and they all disappeared into the darkness. The lights flickered, the static in the air rose and fell and everything returned to normal. Hurma got to his feet and looked around. All that was left of the miners were burnt patches of ground with ash on it. He dashed to the comms and shouted “hello, control!”
“No need to shout, Hurma” replied control “we can hear you fine.”
“We’ve been ambushed!” shouted Hurma “everyone is dead!”

That was the first of many such incidents.

The Sharclon had arrived.

General Ranting / Super Prize Amazing Quiz Chance.

« on: April 21, 2013, 09:41:37 PM »

Welcome to Inso's Super Prize Amazing Quiz chance.

I have super amazing prize for first most excellent answer to this question:

"When I went out to get air so fresh I..."

Best answer posted get super amazing prize of this year's Salute miniature by Renedra!

Yes Super amazing prize can be yours if question answer amuses and entertains so get your writing done so can everyone enjoy most entertaining writing!

Super Prize Amazing Quiz Chance finishes Sunday next... so quick write and post for super chance to win!

General Ranting / For those who went to Salute... How did it go?

« on: April 21, 2013, 10:27:40 AM »

So Salute has come and gone and I bet Neil is busy today, unloading the Hasslefree stuff from the van before returning it. I would have loved to have stayed the extra night and joined the post Salute festivities but I had to get home... but there you go

.

I turned up on the Friday and was let in before the van so I got to meet a few Frothers and help to set up a table and move a few bits around. We set the HF stand up apart from unwrapping the blister racks and setting up the miniatures in their cabinets and walked to the Travelodge (OK... me and Neil went to the wrong one first but it was worth it for the warm reception we received

). We all went out for a few beers and a meal and when last orders was called, were stunned to find that it was past 1AM!!

The day was constantly busy all day apart from when the painting comp was being announced and I think that there was a good turn out of punters.

I didn't really look at too much but the Frothers tables were excellent (if... to be blunt... you weren't permanently scarred by the Rev's table). Snit's Revenge was a worthy winner of innovative game.

I did managed to sneak away and get a few things so...

SWAG TIME

:

3 broken down, Corvus walkers that need a bit of work (a bargain for the price

).
1 GZG 'power-loader' mech (15mm).
2 Antenociti Spider weapon support platforms (15mm).
1 ALF from Four A miniatures.
1 Alien trooper from Four A miniatures.
5 Sharclons from Heresy Miniatures.
2 Graku and the mounted knight on lizardy thing from Twilight Miniatures.
16 Grymn in powered armour from Hasslefree miniatures.
1 Kev Adams pack from Wargames Foundry.
1 Salute 2012 mug.
1 Salute bag that contained a golden ticket (which would have got me a Kaiser Rushforth back pack if I'd bleeping checked), a show miniature, dice and a programme for the event... plus a few ads.

Yep... I think that about covers it

So... who went, what did you like and what did you buy?

The Colouring-in Room / Random.

« on: April 04, 2013, 08:47:01 PM »

This is a moustachioed, three-eyed, hairy, groper:

I sculpted it to add a little flavour to the Frothers sculpting competition. I can't enter because I am a judge so I can show it off

. I'll be the first to admit that it isn't anything too special but I just thought I'd sculpt it for comedy value

.

... I'm not sure the Wang-shambler is fit for this thread...

Movies/TV/Music Zone / Oblivion.

« on: April 03, 2013, 01:33:41 PM »

I have seen a few trailers for the latest Tom Cruise film 'Oblivion' and I think it looks quite interesting. I haven't really taken into account any of the story aspects of the film... I've looked at it more from a techy/sci-fi/inspiration point of view... but it looks quite spangly.

I reckon I may end up going to see it just for the effects (especially the bubble jet).

Any one else thinking about it?

Non-FOD minis / Goblin Aid Sculpt

« on: March 31, 2013, 02:33:40 PM »

For information about Goblin Aid:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goblinaid/582169528462833

Here is my sculpt for the planned auction:

I hope you all JUDGE it worthy

General Ranting / I went and got me a drop ship :)

« on: March 28, 2013, 09:39:23 PM »

Why? I don't know... but I've gone and bought a rather spiffy Dropship that will be rather groovy but will need some serious mods.

It should all be mildly entertaining

Hasslefree / Grymn Urban Powered Armour

« on: March 22, 2013, 09:09:23 PM »

This is the first of many Grymn powered armour troopers. I have painted him in an urban scheme but it could also double as alpine/Arctic at a push:

Ideas, Inspiration & Idle Thoughts... / UNDoD 2013 Final theme poll.

« on: March 22, 2013, 07:09:38 PM »

Well... here we are again. I have checked through the polls and the time has come for the final vote so make your vote count!

I have taken the top two from each of the previous polls and have put them all together here.

From the result of 'The First Poll' it is clear that the general consensus is to apply the theme to ALL of the categories so please bear that in mind when you are voting.

The poll will stay up for 30 days and you get a single vote.

So...

Three...

Two...

One...

VOTE!!!!!!

Hasslefree Gaming and Fluffery / Harald the Grymn

« on: March 20, 2013, 11:52:23 AM »

Harald

Harald tensed his heavy gauntlet and felt the slight resistance as the powered systems caught up. He checked his head-up display (HUD) and could clearly see that he had plenty of power left in his pulse-carbine. He then crouched into a squat and stood up before shrugging his shoulders to prove that all of the suits joints were operating correctly. Finally, he double checked the power and oxygen levels before stepping from the charging plate and going to join his unit.

Harald was part of a small building clearance team. It was his job to be the first into a building to make sure that it was safe for his lighter armoured colleagues to enter without fear of booby-traps. Today, they were going into a seemingly deserted settlement that had been flagged up as having an active energy source.

The journey to the settlement was by anti-grav carrier and was uneventful. When they arrived, Harald and the rest of his unit went to rendezvous with the patrol leader and his company before getting the go-ahead to proceed into the settlement. Haralds unit was to be escorted by a single platoon from the patrol who would be acting as cover while the building clearances were completed.

The advance into the settlement was done by numbers with standard tactical spacing and surge/pause movement. Once they arrived at the first building, the scanners and motion sensors were used to check the building for any life before Harald set his suit to ‘whisker’ mode and entered the building. Whisker mode set the suit’s close, personal, scanners to maximum to pause the suit if any trip-wires or pressure plates were detected. This placed extra demands on the suits power and control systems so it was only used during house clearance operations. Harald disappeared into the building and after around five minutes, emerged to declare that the building was safe. On hearing the information, the unit leader closed the main door and marked it with a large, blue ‘C’ before the unit and their cover platoon moved off to the next building.

There were 35 target buildings and as the day progressed, the map was slowly covered in more blue ‘C’s. Harald was beginning to think that he was on a wild Braak chase when they approached building 21.
“Tin-man” said the unit leader “we have energy readings”.
“Roger, sergeant” replied Harald as he set his suit to whisker mode again and carefully entered the building. Almost immediately, the suit stuttered and the HUD flashed a warning. Harald stepped back again and checked the indicated area. There was a trip wire and he traced it to a small fragmentation grenade that was tucked in the hinges behind the door. He carefully pinned the wire in place at both ends and snipped the wire with his powered gauntlet before continuing into the building. He was being particularly careful now and even before his suit stuttered for the second time, he had spotted the pressure plate at the base of the stairs. He carefully checked the rug that covered the plate to see if there was a two-way switch underneath it before removing the rug. The pressure plate was set directly above an anti-vehicle mine that would have probably been the death of him; even with the protection of the heavy powered armour. It was a familiar mine and Harald pulled a small pin from his utility belt and carefully inserted it into the safety port on the mine to deactivate it. He then checked and scanned beneath the mine for more devices before he was satisfied that it was safe to remove. He carefully lifted the mine and re-traced his steps from the building. Once outside, he placed the mine into one of the stasis chambers before sealing it and marking the details on the information plate on the outside. He gave the thumbs up before entering the building again and after another few minutes he had searched the ground floor with no further incidents. It was time to go upstairs.

The stairs were clear. The landing was clear. The first two rooms were clear.

The suit stuttered and flashed warnings as he was about to open the third door. A quick scan showed a small, anti-personnel mine; linked to the door handle. Harald was happy that the mine was a recognised type and that the suit would not be harmed, so he stood to one side of the door and turned the handle. There was a dull crump as the suit’s aural protection kicked in and muffled the sound of the explosion. Harald felt the pressure wave but was not in the direct line of the blast so was hit by limited debris. He paused for a moment before pushing the remains of the door aside and entering the room. He instantly realised something was wrong when his energy sensors registered a massive spike of emergent power in the room.
“HOSTILES!” shouted Harald as he instinctively raised his arm to deflect the incoming drone. He took the impact before energising the gauntlet and frying the drones systems. The dog sized robotic device dropped to the floor before two more leaped towards Harald. The first, he caught in his powered gauntlet with the second being blown out of the air by pulse carbine blasts. His HUD was alive with blips as he continued to make his way into the room. More drones appeared and leapt onto his suit; scratching away with armoured claws and attempting to get a grip on the smooth surfaces. Harald blazed away with his pulse carbine and ripped the drones from his suit with his powered gauntlet. One of the drones managed to get a claw onto his visor and left a large gouge across the armoured plexi-glass before being crushed and thrown off. With a final shot from his pulse-carbine, the last drone burst apart and dropped, lifeless, to the floor. Harald double checked his HUD and could see no further energy readings. He re-scanned the room and checked the next door which was clear of booby-traps so he entered the room. Inside, there was a small figure strapped to a chair. To one side, there was a trolley with a selection of dental tools and surgical implements. The white gown that covered the figure was heavily stained with blood and Harald could tell that he was dead. He approached the figure while scanning the room. He leant down to see what state the figure was in before his suit stuttered again and his HUD flashed up a weak energy signal. Harald scanned the area but could find no further devices. He double checked his HUD and the weak energy signal was still there so he checked the trolley and area around the chair but found nothing. He looked down at the figure in the chair. The figure looked back at him with wide, frightened eyes before realising that Harald was an ally. The figure smiled a weak, toothless smile from a blood caked mouth.
“MEDIC!” shouted Harald, knowing that this was the final room and the building was now safe.
The figure closed his eyes and relaxed.

Hasslefree Babble / Another lovely little surprise.

« on: March 19, 2013, 03:12:33 PM »

I would like to thank Sally, Kev and Dameon for a little parcel that landed on my mat today

I am looking forward to opening it a bit later this afternoon

I am feeling very special

The Colouring-in Room / The Mondrians

« on: March 09, 2013, 09:18:31 AM »

Just a few ideas before I start the project in earnest.

The Mondrians.

The Mondrians are an unusual race because they are completely secular and refuse to learn other people's language or customs. They communicate with each other using a series of clicks and whistles that don't seem to show any pattern or reason. There are some scientists who believe that they are a psychic race that only uses clicks and whistles to confuse people but this has not been proven.

One thing that can be said is that they are prolific traders who love to use items from anywhere they can find them. Their favourite trading partners are the Grymn because they are exactly the same size and build and that makes it perfect because they don't have to modify the traded equipment to fit.

When trading, the Mondrians do it face to face and simply point at what they want and then point at what they can offer. The traders usually arrive with their goods and will set them out on an elaborate and finely embroidered sheet so that they can be easily viewed. They have a small slate that is used to mark out quantities... usually a series of dots made with chalk. They usually bring a motley selection of items from all around the universe with few items that they have produced themselves. Generally speaking, they are excellent at getting what they want but will often trade over the odds for weapons... even going as far to insist that the over generous trade is received. it is the view of the scientists that this is linked to the value the Mondrians place on life and that they insist on paying over the top for anything that can take a life... but again, this cannot be proven.

The Mondrian face resembles a Grymn's but has three distinct differences. First of all, they don't have a visible nose. Instead there is a broad upper lip area that meets where a Grymn would have the bridge of their nose. Secondly, their skin is a vibrant red and finally, their eye colour is also different; being completely yellow with no visible pupil.
It is difficult to say why they do it but the Mondrians like to paint their war-machines and equipment in bold geometric patterns with bright, distinctive colours within strong boundaries of black. They also like to turn up on any battlefield at any time to fight alongside one of the combatants. Usually, this is tolerated but there are occasions where stealth is required and having a brightly coloured selection of troops and vehicles alongside you can prove difficult. When problems like this arise, the Mondrians won't leave but will follow behind at a safe distance until battle is joined and will then come to help. It is assumed that the small number of Mondrian troops that arrive are young and are trying to prove their mettle in battle but that cannot be taken as fact, as they won't attempt to explain. It can be noted that the Mondrians will normally fight on the weakest side so that adds further weight to the argument.

When in battle, the Mondrians use a selection of traded weapons and equipment but prefer to use Grymn made items. If you looked past the odd colours of their uniforms and equipment, you would almost think that they were Grymn , as long as their faces were concealed. Their combat doctrine is similar to many other races and they use tactics and strategies just the same but they have an edge over the Grymn and that is the speed of the troops. They are faster than Grymn and are able to leap twice their height into the air. They have extremely fast reflexes and are able to dodge attacks with little effort. On the flip side, they do not suffer pain well and if they are injured will drop to the floor and remain in a catatonic state until they are rescued; no matter how small their injury is. This bizarre behaviour has been seen on numerous occasions and it is believed that the Mondrians do this because they do it when they train. Enemies are familiar with this and rarely bother with fallen Mondrians because they know that once they are on the ground they will take no further part in the fighting so they can concentrate on fighting those that will. They also know that Mondrians cannot be interrogated so they are worth nothing as prisoners and tend to leave them where they are.

So... there we have it

General Ranting / Oh my god... it's full of Polls.

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:55:11 PM »

Work is going on behind the scenes for this year's Unofficial Diorama of Doom (UNDoD 2013) and part of the process is to vote in a theme. Due to the huge response, there are a number of polls to be voted on so please could you take a few moments to vote on all of the polls in the following link:

http://forum-of-doom.com/index.php?board=74.0

The results of the Theme Polls will be amalgamated into a final poll to decide the overall theme for the competition.

Please take a few moments to choose

Thank you

Ideas, Inspiration & Idle Thoughts... / Theme Poll 5

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:48:02 PM »

Due to the huge amount of suggestions for a theme for the UNDoD 13 competition, I have broken the vote down into a number of polls. You have a single vote in each poll and when I lock the votes, the winners will go into a final poll.

Get voting quickly because I will only be leaving these initial polls up for a couple of weeks

Ideas, Inspiration & Idle Thoughts... / Theme Poll 4

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:41:21 PM »

Ideas, Inspiration & Idle Thoughts... / Theme Poll 3

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:38:21 PM »